


Just a Dare

by electrictrashcan



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: First Date, First Kiss, M/M, dumbass gays, its been a second, this is just a slow burn trash pile u kno, ugh just kiss already amirite, virgil writes again!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-01-31 11:26:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18590299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electrictrashcan/pseuds/electrictrashcan
Summary: simone is more observant than pat and brian put together. just two dumbass gays romping around tryna kiss each other and bein awkward as hell in the process.





	1. Chapter 1

Simone was getting fed up with this. As far as she was concerned, this act could absolutely not continue.

“Pat.”

The man ignored her.

“Patrick Gill if you don’t get your ass off of that couch and ask him out I am going to throw you through that window!” She gesticulated violently in the direction of the window in question.

Pat sighed heavily and continued fidgeting with the recording room’s wires. “But- but what if I’ve been reading too far into this?”

Simone threw her hands up in frustration before digging the heels of her palms into her eye sockets. “I swear to god I will lock you two in a broom closet and I won’t let you out until you’ve made out!” she cried, throwing her head back and throwing her hands outward in a ‘what could I possibly do?’ gesture.

“Everyone within a five-mile radius knows that you two are thirsting for each other, PAT!”

Her final word became a yell as she began pacing the space in front of the couch. “It has nothing to do with _you_ reading into it and everything to do with _everyone else_ on the _fucking planet_ waiting desperately for you to stop pining over one another so we can move on with our lives.”

Pausing her movement for a moment, Simone turned to look Pat dead in the eyes. A blush had risen to his cheeks, though he managed to maintain a neutral expression only broken by furled eyebrows.

Returning the other’s gaze, Pat shrugged slightly and gave a small grimace.

Simone shifted her weight to one leg and crossed her arms, fixing Pat with an intense stare. “Alright! I’m making the executive decision! You have exactly twenty-four hours to ask Brian to go on a date with you. Failure to do so will result in Simone’s wrath,” she enunciated with faux ferocity, quickly breaking the act to laugh at herself.

Bemused and only a little apprehensive, Pat hesitantly asked, “and that entails…?”

“Let’s just say, mama’s gonna make your life a living hell.” Flashing one of her trademark grins, Simone spun on one heel and flounced out of the livestreaming room. The sharp sound of the wooden door closing caused an already jittery Pat to jump slightly.

He remained glued to his spot on the couch for several minutes more, the silence only broken by the slight _swish_ ing of his pant leg rubbing against the couch’s material from his bouncing leg.

Pat knew, of course, that Simone was mostly joking. She was just a particularly observant woman, good at sniffing out potential relationships and work drama. Sure, she had pointed out Pat’s feelings for Brian before even he was able to articulate them, and insisted that Brian had applied for Polygon in the hopes that he would meet Pat. This was, of course, ridiculous, but he couldn’t help but feel like Simone’s eerie knack for sleuthing out her coworkers’ love lives was more accurate than he was letting himself believe.

If nothing else, Pat could ask Brian out and if it got weird, he could say Simone had dared him. That wouldn’t be at all out of character for her, and Brian would probably take it into stride and laugh about it in the smooth way he took everything. That was just the kind of person he was. His effortless confidence and easy smiles made conversations that Pat would usually beat himself up over seem comfortable. The way that Brian listened to others speak, with a small grin and alert eyes made him feel almost mythic. Everything about him was perfect, from his sunshine laugh to the way he rocked up to stand on the balls of his feet when he something intrigued him. Pat would give anything to see him –

Shaking his head, Pat brought himself back to the real world. He had to go home soon, or risk missing the last ferry back. Glancing at his phone for the time, he hurriedly finished restoring the room to some semblance of cleanliness, though in all honesty the cable management was truly nightmarish.

Shrugging on his jacket, Pat yawned, stretched, and made his way back to his apartment.

 ----- 

Brian’s phone vibrated from the coffee table, startling him slightly. He ignored it and continued playing Splatoon on his switch, figuring it was something in the slack or an email.

After a few moments his phone buzzed again.

“Hush!” Brian muttered, half to himself and half in the general direction of the phone, as if it could hear him.

Less than a minute later it was buzzing again, and Jonah looked over from the armchair and asked “Are you gonna look at that, Bri?”

“Yeah, lemme get it.” Brian heaved a sigh and paused the game, pushing himself off the couch to grab his phone before landing heavily into the same spot he started in.

Pulling his feet into a crisscrossed position, he opened the notifications bar to see a several texts from… Pat?

 

_What’s up?_

_Oops haha you might be sleeoing sorry_

_*sleeping_

Why was Pat Gill texting him at – Brian looked at his watch – 9:43pm? They had a good working relationship and had hung out at each other’s houses a few times, but they rarely spoke at this time. Even in the rare instances he did text Brian this late, it was usually to send a meme or a picture of his conversation with someone else that he thought Brian would find funny. An open-ended invitation for conversation was not really Pat’s style. Perhaps he was drunk.

At any rate, Brian couldn’t help but be apprehensive. He had found himself crushing slightly on the older man when he began watching Polygon’s videos, though that attraction had quickly morphed into something more prevalent in the year since the two had started working together. As innocuous as this message could be, something about the way Pat had texted him felt unusual.

Figuring the best thing he could do was engage with the situation, Brian hastily typed back a response

 

**_bold of u to assume that i sleep_ **

 

Almost instantly, a response:

 

_Haha :)_

**_so,,, what’s up?_ **

_I was just bored and posting too much on twitter, you know?_

 

Pat had not been posting on Twitter, and Brian knew this because he had the other’s notifications on, which was not something he was particularly proud of.

 

**_oh i get that_ **

**_politics getting u down?_ **

_Nah, I’m just tired of scrolling_

_What are you up to?_

**_just playing some splatoon, not really much else_ **

**_laura’s asking me if a_ girl _is texting me_**

 

She was, in fact, singsonging behind him: “What’s so interesting? I thought you weren’t going to look at work stuff at home? Ooh, are you texting a _girl_?”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Nah, just a friend.”

Laura frowned and leaned over the back of the couch, looking at Brian expectantly.

“You know you can’t lie to me, dingus.” She ruffled Brian’s hair affectionately. “Well, keep your secrets, bud, but just know you’re staring at your phone like the love-struck doofus you are.”

Jonah snorted. Brian threw a pillow in his direction.

“I’m gonna go now, because you guys won’t let me have nice things,” he fake pouted, before dramatically standing from the couch and tramping to his room.

It was all in good fun, he knew, but he hoped Laura wasn’t speaking the truth when she said he looked _love-struck_.

His phone vibrated again.

 

_Well I’m certainly not a girl!_

_Wait do you even like girls?_

**_ahaha yeah I’m bi_ **

 

There was no response for a while.

Finally, just as Brian had begun catastrophizing all the ways he could have fucked up the conversation and made Pat uncomfortable, he got a reply:

 

_Oh actually me too!_

_Speaking of, Simone put me up to this dumb dare thing_

**_oh cool! i didn’t know_ **

**_oh simone,,, what dare thing?_ **

 

Brian was upset by this new revelation. Knowing that Pat was into dudes only stoked the flames of a very, very repressed fire.

 

_She told me to ask you on a date_

_Or she would make my life miserable?_

_Feel free to decline_

_I just have to ask you_

_You don’t have to go through with it haha_

**_jkalsdkjfasdf_ **

 

God, he loved Simone but in this moment Brian really, really wanted to strangle her. She _has_ to know, so she’s just messing with him, right?

No, Simone lived for drama, but that would be needlessly cruel. That would be out of her wheelhouse.

She was certainly up to something, though. She always was.

\-----

 

**_i mean sure_ **

**_let’s give her what she wants ;)_ **

Pat laid facedown on his bed, arms and legs splayed out beside him, phone thrown haphazardly in the direction of his pillow. This was absolutely not going to happen.

Brian was just trying to get Simone riled up. The two had a friendly workplace banter, so of course he was going to accept this. It was just a goof for him. There was absolutely no way Brian would ever be attracted to Pat with his dry personality and even more bland personal life. Sure, they were friends, but Brian was sure to go for someone much more exciting than Pat. Simone was good, but she got things wrong too.

But it didn’t matter now. He was, apparently, going on a date with Brian David fucking Gilbert.

 ----- 

Brian was a child. He was barely 25 and could hardly dress himself in the morning. He was naïve and bright-eyed and Pat would never, not in a million years, look at him the way Brian dreamed of him doing.

This was just going to make everything worse for him. Going on an actual date with a coworker/friend who he just wanted to pin to a wall and make out with at every turn sounded like at least one of the circles of hell, though he couldn’t be sure which one. Why would he possibly subject himself to this?

Somewhere, deep in his mind, Brian knew he still harbored an absurd hope that maybe, just maybe, Pat might like him back. That was what had made him agree to this, he supposed.

Even so, he had made few worse decisions than this one. He was going on a date with the one and only Patrick Gill.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pat's a nervous wreck. brian is too he's just better at hiding it. gay tension ensues, etc.

Pat fidgeted with the cuffs of his shirt, anxiously awaiting the arrival of his ‘date.’ He had already been seated at a secluded booth, in a restaurant of a higher caliber than any he would ever dare walk into on his own. Brian had chosen it, of course, a high-end Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Pat refused to let himself look nervous. This was just a set-up by Simone. Brian’s doing it as a joke, and it’s not that deep.

Just as he was about to text Brian to ask him where he was, Pat heard that familiar voice calling his name. Brian, sliding in from seemingly nowhere, effortlessly took his own seat opposed to Pat, and oh no, he looked _good_.

Brian always looked good, to be sure, but his outfit today was… something else. He wore a deep blue suit with a plain white button-down underneath, the top two buttons undone. He had done something to his hair to give it volume while keeping it out of his face. He ran a hand through his hair with a breezy demeanor and gave Pat a warm grin.

“Sorry I was running late! The bus was behind!” He chattered, adjusting his shirt and settling down.

Pat was tragically underdressed compared to Brian. He had worn his combat boots and black jeans with a white button-down, throwing a blazer over it to make everything feel fancier. He had pulled his hair into a loose ponytail, but already, strands of hair were drifting out of it.

“Y- you’re all good,” Pat stuttered. “How are you doing today?”

“We saw each other at work like two hours ago, Pat Gill,” Brian chuckled gently, before turning to page through the menu. “I’m doing pretty good, though,” he continued.

Pat laughed nervously before following suit and flipping to a random page in the menu. This was an upscale restaurant, and as a person who lived off of Chinese food and pizza, he was pretty overwhelmed by all of the options.

Just as quickly as he had opened it, Brian neatly closed his menu as the waiter approached. She smiled wanly at the two and asked in a rehearsed voice, “What would you two gentlemen like to drink tonight?”

Brian smiled back and said, simply, “Just a water for me, please.”

Both he and the waiter turned to look at Pat.

“Uh, just, um, get me a water too!” Pat spit out, before burying his head back into the menu.

The waiter nodded and in a chipper voice, said “Alright, and your drinks will be out in just a moment! Did either of you have any questions about our menu?”

Brian shook his head no. Pat stared intently at _Shrimp and Scallop Alfredo_.

The waiter bustled off.

“Sorry, I just don’t do well with people…” Pat muttered.

“Me neither!” Brian responded. “I rehearsed that a bunch of times in my head before I said anything. I’m super scared of tripping over my words or saying something I don’t mean to!” A blush rose high on his cheeks as he ducked his head slightly. “I looked up the menu at this place on the bus so I would know what I wanted to get.” He stopped abruptly, cheeks coloring even deeper.

Pat smiled back at the bubbly boy in front of him. Brian was usually the one to fill their conversations with one another, but today he seemed especially talkative. As Brian busied himself with unrolling his napkin and meticulously arranging the silverware, Pat couldn’t help but stare at the other’s thin fingers deftly maneuvering things across the table. What he wouldn’t do to hold that hand…

Brian looked up and Pat quickly looked back towards _Eggplant Parmesan._

 

 

Brian insisted on paying. It was his idea to go to such an expensive restaurant, after all. Pat pushed back, but finally let the other take the bill.

“Don’t worry, you can pay next time,” Brian prodded, in a tone that he hoped seemed coy and not desperate. Pat clearly hated this. Hated him, probably.

To Brian’s surprise, though, Pat flushed and muttered something about there being a next time.

Huh. Brian had struck a chord. Maybe he could push it.

“Do you wanna go back to my place? We can watch play video games or just hang out! It’s up to you!” Brian rambled, cringing internally at how clingy and childish he sounded. “Or we can go our separate ways!”

He was ridiculous. He looked and sounded ridiculous. Why had he let himself get roped into this?

Pat observed Brian in a look that was what he thought was surprise. “That actually… sounds really nice,” He rumbled in his usual monotone.

“Wait, really?” Brian squeaked. “Um, this might be dumb, but do you wanna walk? We could take the bus, but I love walking down New York’s streets.”

Pat smiled – smiled! – down at him and tossed his head in what Brian chose to interpret as a nod.

Forcing the giddiness down, Brian took the lead and Pat fell into stride alongside him. They spoke quietly and comfortably about their current projects at work, Charlie and Zuko, and how ridiculous Simone was for setting this up. Pat seemed so much less rigid now that he was out of the restaurant. He really didn’t do well with strangers, which Brian understood well. His hand accidentally brushed Pat’s.

Brian pulled away sharply as a pang went through his body. “Sorry,” he muttered, speeding up the tiniest amount and refusing to meet Pat’s eyes. Pat didn’t respond, which only succeeded in making Brian more anxious about the situation, until –

Pat gripped Brain’s hand. They halted in unison. Brian looked up at Pat, then down at their interlocked hands.

“Is this okay?” Pat asked gently.

Brian nodded silently. Pat’s hand was cold and boney, but the way their fingers slid together was perfect. Pat gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and gestured in front of them as if to say ‘keep walking?’

Brian felt heat rise in his cheeks. He was holding hands with Pat Gill while walking down the streets of Brooklyn. He had to be dreaming.

The two walked silently for a while, enjoying each other’s company. Brian worried his bottom lip, anxious to speak, but unsure of what he could possibly say in this absolutely absurd situation. Patrick Gill had _voluntarily_ asked if he could hold _Brian’s hand_. There was a lot to unpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 baybee almost to the Good Kissy Part! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hehe

Pat watched as Brian nervously fumbled with the keys to his apartment. The younger man seemed flushed and anxious, which Pat hoped was because of him. As Brian cracked the door open and ushered Pat in first, he noted: “Jonah and Laura are both doing things tonight.”

Pat had suspected something along those lines. So it would just be him, Brian, and the cat. At Brian’s apartment. A very nervous, very attractive Brian’s apartment.

Brian eased the door closed behind him and blew past Pat, asking if he wanted anything to drink. “I think I have beers here, or if you want a coke or something..." He trailed off the end of his sentence, hair falling into his eyes as he turned to face the taller man.

“I’ll take a beer, actually,” Pat said, pulling off his blazer and pushing his own hair out of his face. A sharp noise from Brian caused him to turn around sharply, only to see a mop of tawny hair quickly turning the corner. He must’ve seen Zuko or something.

“Are you good, Bri?” Pat called, choosing his words carefully, before making his way around the corner Brian had just disappeared behind. The boy was rummaging through the fridge in search for what Pat assumed was a beer.

Extracting two with a triumphant cry, Brian stood up to see Pat watching him with an amused smile. Trying to come across as demure and not awkward, he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, giving a grimace that he hoped didn’t look too creepy. Brian was positively glowing crimson, his hair out of place and his suit jacket akimbo. He looked unfairly cute, and Pat wanted nothing more than to kiss his stupid face. Brian stuck out one of the cans in front of him, and Pat accepted it, letting his fingers linger on Brian’s longer than strictly necessary.

He watched the other’s eyes carefully as he did so. Brian’s widened, almost imperceptibly so, while Pat squinted ever so slightly.

_Be bold, dipshit._

He had to hype himself up somehow.

Never letting go of the can or eye contact with Brian, Pat took a purposeful step forward, leaving only a few inches between him and the smaller man. He could hear Brian breathing now. It was heavy, staggered. Pat very quietly whispered “Hey.”

Brian stuttered as though trying to form words, but nothing coherent came out.

Maybe Pat had read all of this wrong. _Fuck_. Brian was gonna be confused and upset and angry and he was gonna bring it to HR and Pat was gonna lose his job and Brian was gonna be misera-

“Are – are you gonna kiss me?” The tremulous voice asked, oh so tentatively.

_Fuck._

Pat cupped Brian’s chin with one hand and pulled his face upward, before softly letting their lips touch.

As though shot through with electricity, Brian came alive, pushing against Pat until he was flush up against the door of the fridge. Brian deepened the kiss and pulled his fingers through Pat’s hair, yanking out his hairband with just enough force to make Pat gasp. His brain was sludge, but a steady and intense current was coursing through his veins. Brian’s lips were soft and quick and everything Pat could have ever imagined. The slight figure before him was hungrily grapping his shirt, his hair, anything to make the kiss last just a little longer.

Finally, after letting Brian have his moment, Pat grunted and pushed him away gently.

“I still have to breathe!” he wheezed lightly.

Brian ran a hand through his already mussed up hair and folded both arms around himself.

“Sorry,” he whispered, almost imperceptibly.

Furrowing his brow, Pat responded incredulously. “Sorry? Bri, that was fucking phenomenal.”

Brian slacked his jaw very slightly.

“Do you like it when I call you Bri?” Pat asked, lowering his voice to a rumble.

Brian flushed even more, before recovering and retorting with “Almost as much as you like it when I call you Pat Gill.”

He was right. _Something_ was pooling at the base of Pat’s stomach.

 

 

Brian was overwhelmed and maybe a little bit hard. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t blame on his well-fitted suit, yet. It was going to be, if Pat kept kissing him like that. The man in question was leaning into the fridge while staring Brian down in what he could only call a _hunger_ , and it sent shivers down his spine. The taller man was gazing down at him with a severity that only sharpened his cheekbones and made his brows more intense.

It was really fucking hot.

What could he say? Brian had a type.

With all the ferocity and agility of a panther, Pat had grabbed Brian’s shoulders and slid out from his position between Brian and the fridge, shoving Brian into his now vacant spot. Now, he was looming over Brian with his hands flat on the fridge door, one on either side of Brian’s head.

With what Brian could only describe as a _growl_ , Pat moved forward to capture Brian’s lips. Brian leaned back into it, wrapping both arms around Pat’s waist.

Breaking away from the kiss, Brian keened “If you don’t do something more soon, I’m gonna start climbing you like a fucking tree.”

Pat leaned in to mutter into Brian’s ear, “Maybe I’d enjoy that.”

Brian felt his own jaw drop. _God damn he wanted this man._

Both Pat and Brian were breathing heavily now, foreheads almost touching, Brian’s arms wrapped tight around Pat’s waist and Pat’s hands now in his Brian’s hair.

Brian wiggled impatiently.

Pat’s gaze was still dark, but affection clouded the want in his eyes.

“I don’t think we should…” He started, before hesitating. Brian knew what he was going to say.

“I just… I want this to keep going, y’know?”

Brian heard the hesitance in his voice, the fear. Pat didn’t want this to be a friends-with-benefits situation. He wanted it to _last_. Brian felt a surge of love – not want – wash over him. Pat _cared_ about him; he wasn’t in it for one night

Very gently, Brian let go of Pat’s waist, bringing just the tips of his fingers to Pat’s bony hips. He needed Pat to know that he completely understood. They stared at each other for a bit, just living in each other’s eyes. Pat’s were a deep brown, brimming with kindness and good humor. Brian loved him.

Bringing himself up to his toes, Brian placed a quick, chaste kiss on Pat’s scratchy chin.

“I know,” he whispered.

 

 

Pat let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He was irrevocably in love with the man in front of him, and he was so scared of fucking up.

They stood in silence. Brian’s delicate fingers found their way from Pat’s hips to his hands.

Without preamble, Brian was giggling in that infectious way that he did.

“We’re so fuckin stupid Pat! We’re just standing in the middle of the kitchen _staring_ at each other!” He quickly followed up with “Not that I mind of course! Fuck! I ruined the moment, huh?” He flashed a nervous, crooked smile.

Pat reached up to ruffle Brian’s hair playfully, then pulled him into a hug.

“You kinda did, kid,” he murmured, looking past Brian’s head from where it was tucked in next to his collarbone. “I love it though, when you do that.”

Brian sat back from the embrace, reproachful.

“Do what!”

Pat grinned. “I dunno. Just- just be a dork like that, I guess.”

Brian huffed dramatically, crossing his arms high on his chest.

“Well, I was _gonna_ invite you to stay the night, but if you’re gonna _bully_ me like that I guess I won’t!”

Pat’s heart soared.

He struggled to maintain a straight face before replying, “Well, I guess I’ll be on my way then.” He began to pick his glasses up from where they had inexplicably ended up on the counter, when Brian hit him with what was possibly the cutest pout he had ever seen.

Pat sighed and rolled his eyes affectionately. “I _guess_ I’ll stay…” he grumbled, answering Brian’s silent question with faux drama. The kid’s eyes lit up and he grabbed Pat’s wrist, partly guiding and partly dragging him through the apartment to get to his room. Brian closed the door silently behind them and, with no preamble, dropped his pants.

“BRIAN! What the fuck?” Pat cried, averting his eyes.

“What?” Brian teased. “I still have boxers on! And I’m not about to sleep in these pants that I pressed _especially_ for today!”

That was fair. Pat’s brain was still in overdrive, though. He shoved his thoughts down and turned away, blushing and shucking his pants off as well.

Brian had somehow already scrambled into the bed by the time Pat had undressed. He had the blanket tucked under his chin and was observing Pat’s every move.

_God, Pat was long gone on this one. He was completely and utterly smitten._

Shooting Brian a closed-mouthed but genuine smile, Pat slid in beside him and pulled the covers over the both of them.

Sighing contentedly, Brian sidled up next to Pat and wrapped an arm around him, wavy hair splayed messily out across his chest.

Pat stared up at the ceiling, gently circling a thumb over Brian’s shoulder.

“Good night,” Pat whispered.

Brian was already asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)))))) we're not talking about the m*stache okay? anyway these boys finally kiss and it is Good

**Author's Note:**

> hey folks what is up it's virgil and welcome to the trashcan. aw fuck aw shit i'm just droppin my fanfic all over the place. oh fuck sorry guys it just keeps falling out of my pockets oh fuck oh shit. uh chapters 2 and 3 are Done but i gotta revise em. my fanfic fingers are Stiff since it's been a while since I've written anything jalksjdfkasd
> 
> they're gonna do A Kiss soon i promise :)


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